Virtual pets - raise your own digital baby animal into adulthood
	The Tamagotchi or Digital Chicken craze in Japan was bound to spawn many offspring. In this day and age, many successful products have the potential of creating their own cottage industries. Take Street Fighter as an example - it's the 90's grandpa of fighting games.The digital chicken mania has started to lend itself to variants on the theme with two new mini-sims expected in the next couple of weeks. NCS will have both items stocked as soon as they are available. Its a little late for us to source Tamagotchi as Bandai will bring it over to the States and Europe in May but these two have not been announced for a stateside release.
	Digital Kitten - Virtual Pet #2
	Your little charge this time is a kitten who is born the moment you turn the mini-game on. Like a living animal, the kitten exists in real-time and has to be cared for like any other pet that you might have living in your house. You can feed the kitten daily servings of fish and milk to keep it happy and so it can grow. Feeding should be done in moderation however as you do not want your kitten to become chubby. A fat kitten would be unhealthy and might lead to future physical problems or sloth-like behaviour. Kittens are naturally playful and frisky so you will have to provide it with play things to keep it busy and physically fit. Like all babies, you will also need to ensure that your kitten gets enough sleep and is well rested. Its a delicate balance but therein lies the challenge and attraction of your new virtual pet. Life is not without its travails however and your kitten can get sick or injured. When this happens, it is time to give it some medicine or even take it to the animal hospital for an operation to get it healthy and purring again. If you are a successful pet owner, your kitten will grow up and become a cat. Cats go out on dates (really, they just never tell you) and you will have to monitor the dates that your cat goes out with. There are some bad apples out there but if your cat meets the right mate, they will have a kitten and the whole cycle will begin anew.
	Digital Dinosaur - Virtual Pet #3
	Like it's predecessors, you're given the task of raising a cute little animal into an adult. With Virtual Pet #3, we venture into fantasy scenarios with the introduction of a dinosaur as your little beastie. Dinosaurs are reptiles and reptiles are cold blooded. Baby reptiles will need to warm themselves in the sun and eat a healthy diet of plants. If they do not stay warm, then they'll get sick and you will have to play nursemaid with prehistoric medicines. National Console will update the information for Digital Dinosaur as soon as it is available but expect many more virtual pets through the rest of 1997. Eventually, Bandai may have to release a collection and call it a virtual zoo for all of your beloved digital pets.
	Return to the NCS Whats New page for April 14, 1997